Businesses that add value to nature instead of degrading and destroying it could tap into a $10.1 trillion opportunity which could create 395 million jobs by 2030.

This is the central finding of a major new analysis by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The report is the second of three from the forum’s New Nature Economy series, which aims to demonstrate the relevance of nature-loss to boardroom discussions on risks, opportunities and financing.

WEF wants to bring together progressive businesses to push for policy action in the run-up to COP15, the UN Convention on Biodiversity talks set to place in Kunming, China, on 17-30 May next year.

The WEF’s first report, published in January, concluded that business depends on nature and its services to the extent that $44 trillion of economic value generation – over half the world’s GDP – is potentially at risk.

Scientists have warned that nature is declining at an unprecedented rate, with nearly one million species facing extinction because of human activity. The Amazon rainforest, the world’s coral reefs, and the boreal forest biomes are all fast approaching irreversible tipping points with far-reaching effects on the economy, society, and life, they say.

The WEF’s latest report states that 80 percent of threatened species are endangered by business-related pressures from food, land and ocean use; infrastructure and the built environment; and energy and extractive industries.

Together, these activities represent over a third of the global economy and provide up to two-thirds of all jobs, meaning they have the most to gain by embracing change now, the forum believes.

The report identifies 15 transitions these sectors could make to form a blueprint for action to halt nature loss by 2030. The recommendations combine finding efficiencies in existing models with radically innovating to create new models.

Read the full article about nature and business by Catherine Early at Eco-Business.